A bomb of an experience

By Sanket D. Kambli

Luckily the bomb didn’t go off. !!!

It was a sunny evening. I was waiting at the bus-stop near thane station.
While fiddling with my mobile phone, I happened to spot a person behind me, with a device in his hands.
At first I mistook him to be an environmentalist checking out pollution levels at thane station, but I doubted that, because of the presence of three cops.
So I looked carefully at what exactly he was doing.
After a few seconds of observation, it dawned on me; the guy was part of police bomb squad, checking whether an abandoned green color sports bag contained any explosive material.
That not only stunned me, but also concerned me.
I was concerned because the cops didn’t bother to evacuate the crowded spot.
I put my concerns to rest by thinking, maybe this all a hoax, or else why would the cops be so careless. Thinking that, I was about to move back to fiddling with my mobile, when suddenly two more guys from the bomb disposal squad, got down from the van.
They came together towards the bomb-bag; carrying a heavy blanket (something similar to a bullet-proof jacket only larger). That set off the alarms in my head.
Raising an eye-brow I thought if they are sure that the bag doesn’t contain any bomb, then why they are placing the bag into this heavily padded blanket.
Now this activity panicked me, what if like in the movies, the bomb may get triggered due to some stupid motion sensors. My survival instincts overpowered my curiosity instincts, and with a throbbing heart, I left the bus-stop and got into the first rickshaw I could lay my eyes on, after dismissing any thoughts of shouting BOMB!! BOMB!! and making things worse for everyone. With an uneasy feeling I left the place, wondering what will happen next.
The next day, a friend of mine, told me that Thane Plus had reported a bomb being found near Thane station, but the bomb hadn’t gone off and the bomb disposal squad had successfully managed to diffuse it. A sigh of relief was added to the memory of a freaky evening.